


Soften every edge

by Port_in_a_Storm



Series: Roblivion - Find my home [1]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Established Relationship, Families of Choice, Five times + one, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Light Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Siblings, Slice of Life, Trigger warning: mentions of Gordon, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7077802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Port_in_a_Storm/pseuds/Port_in_a_Storm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times that Liv felt a part of their little family, and one time she made Robert feel part of it. Slices of life which see the three of them together trying to build a happy, working family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soften every edge

**Author's Note:**

> This is more fluff than you can shake a stick at, but it's my little look into how Liv would feel with this brand new family around her.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy

1)

The first time was when Liv had heard Robert call her brother ‘Baby’ for the first time. Aaron had cooked for them whilst she had been at school and Robert had been working. Charity had taken Noah away on a break for the weekend, and Chas was out for a date night with Wise. It was just the three of them in the pub back room for the night. The smell of tomatoes wafted through from the small kitchen, and when she ventured in, she found her brother stirring a pan of bolognaise, with Robert watching him fondly from his place leaning against the counter. It was when they’d sat down to eat that she heard it. Robert and Aaron leaned towards each other and kissed softly. 

‘Thank you for dinner, Baby.’

Liv had expected her brother to laugh in Robert’s face, because _Baby_? But Aaron had just smiled and said ‘You’re welcome.’ And they’d eaten. She sat with a confused frown on her face until Aaron laughed a bit nervously. ‘It’s not that bad, is it?’ he asked, pointing to her plate with his fork.

She’d shaken herself and smiled at him. ‘No, it’s good.’ 

She hadn’t heard it anymore that night, so had put it down to an accident, and maybe Aaron just not hearing right. (She came to realise that Robert never ever used that term of endearment around anyone else: not Chas, or Adam, or Diane. She had heard him say it a few times when they were with Victoria, and that was the moment that she started to feel just a little bit special, knowing that she knew something about her brother and his boyfriend that even Aaron’s mum didn’t know.)

After dinner, she and Robert washed and dried, letting Aaron sit in front of the telly, shouting at footballers. She and Robert grinned at each other every time he swore or clapped. When everything was packed away, and the sides all clean, she sat at the table and did her homework. Algebra. She hated it; loathed it with her entire being. She slammed the book shut and gained the wide-eyed stare of her brother.

‘Everything alright?’

‘I hate algebra. When am I ever gonna use it?’

Aaron snorted. ‘Tell me about it. I was never good at maths. I only learned how to do accounts and the books by watching Mum.’ He leant his head back and yelled for Robert who came thundering downstairs seconds later.

‘What? What’s wrong?’

‘Could you help Liv with her homework?’

Robert put a hand to his chest. ‘Is that it? I thought something was wrong!’

‘It is,’ Liv argued. ‘Algebra!’

Robert wrinkled his nose. ‘Oh god, I hated algebra.’ When Liv’s face fell, he sat next to her. ‘Doesn’t mean I can’t help you, though. C’mon, let’s have a look.’

With the football and Aaron’s voice as their soundtrack, Liv learned more about algebra than she was sure she could ever have been taught in school. Later, when Aaron left the television alone (albeit only after Robert had complained that he was getting much too loud for him to even think), he put his hands on her shoulders. ‘He’s good for something, ain’t he?’

Robert glared at him and Liv hid her smirk by ducking her head. She got a warm feeling in her stomach when Aaron, grinning as if he had been so clever, asked them if they wanted a cuppa. This felt like something that she could keep.

****

2)

The second time had been the second night in their new home. 

Liv had been so scared when she overheard Aaron and Robert talking about moving out, because it sounded to her like they were making plans for just the two of them.

She was sitting at what had become her usual frequented stoop, in the middle of the flight of stairs in the pub’s back room. She had intended on going into the kitchen to get a drink, but when she heard her brother’s low voice, she had stopped, her mind immediately going into self-preservation mode, thinking that he and Robert were talking about her. 

‘It’s getting so overcrowded here,’ Aaron was saying. ‘It’s like a flamin’ B&B rather than a house.’

Robert sighed. ‘I know. It’s really not ideal. We’re all just living in each other’s pockets.’

‘I just want a fresh start, y’know. Just us.’

Liv felt tears in her eyes and she angrily swiped them away. She had thought that they had been doing better: she and Robert were getting along so much better now, and she and Noah had learned to avoid each other as best they could. Maybe there was something she had done? Something to make Aaron change his mind about keeping her around?

She rose from the stairs and went back to her room. She was about to pack a bag, and she got as far as putting her jeans and coats into it before she started to cry. She thought they were a family.

She fell asleep, her tears and anxiety making her exhausted. The next thing she knew, she was being jolted awake by a knock at her door. 

‘Come in,’ she answered weakly. Aaron entered. It took everything she had to not break down again.

He sat on the bed and smiled at her. ‘Y’alright?’ he asked. She nodded. ‘Hey, listen, me and Robert wanna talk to you, okay? Come downstairs for a second.’

This was it. The moment that they’d tell her that she had done something wrong; that they were going to move out and leave her here with Chas and Charity. She felt sick. 

‘Liv? You sure you’re alright?’

‘Yeah, fine,’ she snapped. Aaron raised his eyebrows.

‘Okay. Well, come on then.’ He took her by the arm and led her downstairs.

At the dining room table, Robert had his laptop open and was scrolling and typing. When he saw her, he smiled, but then his brow furrowed. ‘You alright?’

‘I’m fine,’ she snapped again. She saw Robert and Aaron meet each other’s eyes, but they didn’t say anything else. 

‘Okay. C’mere, then.’ He pushed out a chair for her to sit in. Aaron sat next to her.

‘Liv,’ Aaron started. ‘Me and Robert were talking about moving. It’s so crowded here now.’

She felt her throat start to close, and knew that in a moment, she would start to cry. Robert turned his laptop towards her. ‘What do you think of this flat, eh? It’s the ones that Rakesh just finished building.’ She shrugged. Robert and Aaron looked at each other again, communicating silently. ‘Well, we were hoping you’d have something to say about it. One of these rooms is gonna be yours, after all.’

She looked up. ‘What?’

Aaron suddenly looked nervous. ‘Well, unless you didn’t want to move with us,’ he said. ‘Y’know… we’re not gonna pressure you into anythin’.’

Liv smiled, big and bright. She looked at the computer screen. ‘They look really nice,’ she said.

‘Good. We thought, y’know, if we bought it straight out, you could paint your room whatever colour you wanted,’ Aaron was saying. ‘Have Gabby ‘round when you want to.’ Whatever else he said was lost on her. All she knew was that she was part of a family, and that they wanted her.

It was the second night after they had moved in that she really felt it. There were boxes everywhere in the living area. All three of them had spent most of the day before sorting out their own rooms. The only thing they had done in the front room was place some photos on the walls. 

Liv came downstairs that evening, and found Aaron and Robert putting together a cabinet. She stood and watched in amusement for a moment: her brother was clearly the one who knew what he was doing, but Robert insisted that his way was quicker and easier.

‘Rob, all I’m sayin’ is that I’ve—’

‘Aaron, I know what I’m doing, alright.’ He flung his hand out. ‘Give me the pliers.’

‘What the fuck d’you want the pliers for?’

She cleared her throat before they could start a mini argument. They instantly stopped and looked at her. ‘Are we getting tea anytime soon? I’m starvin’.’

The men looked at each other. ‘Oh shit,’ Robert muttered. ‘I don’t know where the kitchen stuff is.’ The two of them stayed silent for a second longer, before bursting out laughing. Liv rolled her eyes.

‘So, food?’

‘We’ll order takeaway,’ Robert suggested. ‘You like Chinese, yeah?’

So the three of them had sat on the floor and passed the Chinese food around, each of them taking a forkful from the tray before passing it on. Liv grinned. It was these moments that made her little family so unique, and so special to her. When they were done, Robert got up and took the trays and plastic forks from them and threw them away.

‘So,’ he sat down next Aaron and put his arm around his waist. ‘What do you two wanna do tonight? ‘Cause I am not doing another minute of work.’

‘Can we watch a movie?’ Liv asked.

‘All our DVDs are in…’ Aaron looked around. ‘One of these boxes. And the telly isn’t hooked up for internet yet.’

‘Oh.’

Robert took his phone from his pocket. ‘I’ve got 4G on my phone. We can watch something on here if you want.’ 

They crowded around Robert, Aaron lie down and put his head in his boyfriend’s lap, and Liv sat against Robert’s side. As the night went on and her eyes started to close though, she started to lean more and more against his shoulder. She was only partially aware of the movie ending, and Robert and Aaron talking quietly.

‘She looks so small,’ Aaron said with something like wonder in his voice. 

Robert breathed a soft laugh, and the movement jolted her body, but it wasn’t enough to wake her fully. When he spoke, his voice vibrated through his chest and into her ear, and sent soothing tingles down her spine. ‘We’d better get her to bed before her neck starts to hurt.’ She vaguely heard Aaron make a noise of agreement. ‘You ready for bed as well, Baby?’

‘Yeah.’ He yawned. ‘We’ll get the rest done tomorrow.’

She felt herself being moved, but instead of waking her, she was gathered into Robert’s arms and carried upstairs to her room. When she woke the next morning, she couldn’t remember what had been real and what hadn’t. She went downstairs and when she saw Robert and Aaron sat on the ground drinking tea, admiring their newly put together cabinet and congratulating each other on a job well done, she couldn’t help but grin.

****

3)

The next time was when Aaron had fallen ill. A bug had been doing its rounds in the village, but so far none of them had been unlucky enough to have caught it.

Then one morning she woke to the horrible sound of someone retching in the bathroom. She got up, and seeing that their bedroom door was open, went to the loo to check on them. Robert was kneeling at Aaron’s side, rubbing her brother’s back as he vomited into the toilet. She wrinkled her nose.

‘Y’alright?’

And even though he was pale and sick, Aaron still managed to throw a glare her way. ‘Sorry,’ she winced. 

Robert chuckled. ‘He’s always like this when he’s ill. Grumpy as hell.’

‘Better than you. Think you’re dyin’ when you get a cold—urgh!’ Aaron threw up again, and even though Robert had just been teased by him, he rubbed his back again and murmured soothing nonsense to him. 

When he’d stopped—Liv had gone downstairs for breakfast, and filled the kettle enough for the three of them—Robert came into the kitchen. ‘He’s gonna be alright, in’he?’ she asked. 

‘Yeah, course he is. It’s just a stomach bug, that’s all.’ The man ruffled her hair until she ducked away from his hand. ‘Besides, a few days’ rest at home will sort him out.’

‘’M not stayin’ home.’ Aaron was standing in the doorway, pale and swaying, but dressed in his black hoodie.

‘Uh, I think you’ll find you are, actually,’ Robert argued. He handed a mug to Aaron, who sipped it without looking.

‘Ugh! What the hell is this?’ he said. His voice was weak and didn’t carry its usual gruffness. Liv would have giggled if she wasn’t quite so worried.

Robert shrugged. ‘Green tea. It’s supposed to help with your stomach. Hey!’ he protested when Aaron chucked the lot down the sink. 

‘If I want to try some of your new age junk, I’d ask for it, thanks.’ He stole Robert’s tea instead and took a generous gulp. Robert looked at his mug in disgust. ‘I’m going to work.’  
But he didn’t even get to the front door, before he was clutching his stomach and groaning.

‘Aaron!’ They both rushed to Aaron’s side. ‘For fuck’s sake, just stop being so bloody stubborn.’ But Liv could hear the worry in Robert’s voice. ‘Please, please just stay at home today?’

In the end, Aaron agreed, though he still put up a token fight. He stopped when Liv begged him as well though to get some rest because she was worried about him. Aaron threw Robert a look as if to say _‘it’s your fault. You worried her.’_ But neither of them cared. Aaron climbed back into bed, and lay delicately under the covers.

‘Do you want me to stay with you?’ Liv asked.

Aaron gave her a look. ‘You’re just tryin’ to get out of school again.’ He smiled, but it was weak. ‘Go to school, Liv, and Rob you go to work.’ Before they could question him again, he had fallen asleep. Luckily, Robert was working in the village today, so he told her he’d pop back every half hour or so to check on him.

As soon as Liv got home from school, she went straight home ignoring Gabby when she asked her if anything was wrong. She flung open the door to the flat and rushed upstairs, desperate to make sure with her own eyes that her brother was alright. He was just waking up when she got there, and he smiled at her. 

‘Hey. You’re home early,’ he said. He still sounded weak, but better than this morning.

‘Not really,’ she shrugged. ‘Came straight here.’ She sat on the bed beside him and took his hand. 

‘I’m okay, Liv. Honest. Rob’s downstairs. He’s makin’ me soup.’

‘Rob’s here? I didn’t even see him.’

‘Probably because you ran up here before you even took your shoes off,’ came his voice from the doorway. She smiled sheepishly at him. He tried to ruffle her hair with his free hand, the one that wasn’t holding a bowlful of good-smelling soup, but she ducked out of the way. He grinned and sat on the next side of the bed. He softened his smile for Aaron. ‘I begged the recipe off Vic,’ he said, stirring it a little. ‘It’s chicken soup. My mum used to make it for us when we were kids. I think Vic used to pretend to be ill just so she could have this.’ 

Aaron shuffled himself to a sitting position against the pillows. ‘Thank you.’ He slurped a spoonful, and from the corner of her eye, Liv saw Robert cringe, though he didn’t say anything. ‘This is really good,’ he praised. ‘Who knew you could cook this well, eh?’

‘Hey, I used to be a chef!’ Robert protested, though he said it with a laugh. ‘And I’ve cooked enough times for you two.’

‘I know. ’M only teasin’. C’mere.’ Aaron gripped Robert’s sleeve and they leaned towards each other, their lips meeting in a light kiss. ‘Thank you for takin’ care of me today,’ he said. Liv was pretty sure they forgot she was in the room. He pecked Robert on the lips again. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too, Baby.’

Taking that as her cue to go, Liv left the room. She went downstairs, took her shoes off and put the television on, low enough that Aaron could sleep if he needed to. Half an hour later, Robert came back downstairs, the bowl now empty. 

‘Thanks for looking after him,’ Liv said. Robert just smiled at her and ruffled her hair. This time, she let him.

****

4)

Liv had begged for the day off school, and Aaron had agreed without a second thought. It was the first anniversary of their… of Gordon’s death. Liv woke not really knowing what to feel. She felt this kind of emptiness, even though she knew that Gordon wasn’t worth it. _‘It’s okay to be sad’_ she reminded herself, the voice sounding like Robert’s in her head. She allowed herself a moment to think about last year, and to think about how she felt. She mourned the loss of what he could have been for her. Then she got out of bed.

Aaron was sitting to the table. Robert was making breakfast. ‘Bacon sandwich, Liv?’ he asked her gently.

She nodded. She slid herself onto the chair next to Aaron. He offered her a weak smile. His eyes were red. ‘Can I stay home today?’

‘Yeah. Course you can.’ His smile wobbled and his eyes filled with tears. He cleared his throat and got to his feet, pulling her along as well. He automatically sought Robert out, and the three of them hugged in the kitchen. Robert’s hand pat her back, and he kissed Aaron’s head. The whole time that Robert prepared the bacon, neither of them moved away from his side. 

‘We should do somethin’ today,’ Aaron said, when they were drinking their tea, empty plates in the middle of the table. ‘Something nice.’

‘Theme park?’ Robert suggested. 

Aaron snorted and nearly choked on his tea. ‘What, so you can win that giraffe?’ he laughed.

Liv smiled, knowing they’d tell her the story. ‘What giraffe?’

‘There was this giant-arse giraffe at the same place that he won that.’ He pointed at one of the armchairs, where the huge teddy they had won at the theme park the year earlier sat. ‘You shoulda seen ‘im, Liv,’ Aaron shook his head, turning fond eyes on his boyfriend. ‘ “I’ll win you something, Baby,”’ he imitated Robert’s voice well. They laughed. ‘Yeah, only took you a hundred tries.’

‘Fourteen! Fourteen tries, Aaron!’

‘There was a queue,’ her brother said, his laughing eyes now on Liv. ‘This line of kids had formed whilst sniper here tried to shoot five ducks.’

‘They were fast ducks!’ Robert huffed, but both she and Aaron could see that he wasn’t really annoyed by his teasing. 

Aaron laughed so hard his face turned red. Then so did Liv. ‘It was a disaster, Rob!’ He wiped his eyes. ‘So no, we ain’t goin’ back there. Probably not even allowed. They probably have our photos on some… wall of shame or somethin’.’ That set Liv off again, and soon all three of them were laughing hysterically.

‘Fine,’ Robert sighed after they had all calmed down. ‘Where do _you_ want to go, then?’

Aaron thought for a moment, then smiled.

They ended up at a beach. As soon as they were in sight of it, Aaron lit up. ‘This was where I spent one of the best days ever,’ he told Liv, turning round in his seat as Robert tried to find a parking spot. ‘My Mum brought me here. I was seven. I think I brought half the beach back with me that day, even though I spent most of the time in the amusement arcade.’

They bought ice-creams and walked down to the sea side. It was a beautiful day, being almost the end of May. Aaron and Robert’s hands were linked, and Liv smiled. Aaron had been becoming a lot more open with his affections towards Robert these days. She could see the effect it was having on them both. They had been close before, but now they were almost inseparable. Every little thing they did, they always seemed to gravitate towards each other. 

Once they were finished their ice-creams, Aaron put his arm around Liv’s shoulder, and they walked until they found a secluded spot. They sat down and Robert rolled his trousers up. She and Aaron took a moment to laugh at his pale legs, though Aaron didn’t laugh when Robert asked him to rub sun cream on them. Liv looked away, knowing that they’d dissolve into some weird kind of flirting and mating ritual which would be picked up later tonight.

They sat in comfortable silence for a good long while, the three of them, drinking in the sun, and the sounds of the waves washing up on the beach.

‘There’s this picture of me, Mum and D—and Gordon at the beach,’ Liv said suddenly. She didn’t look at her brother, but she could sense both his and Robert’s eyes on her. ‘I dunno which one it was. I don’t really remember it properly. But the in the photo, he—’ she stuttered on a breath as she saw it so clearly in her head. ‘He’s wearing this hat. It’s pink. And it’s too small for him,’ she smiled, but she was also crying. ‘I think it must’ve been Mum’s, maybe even mine. I’m looking up at him, smilin’. And he has his arms around me and Mum.’ She wiped her eyes, but the tears kept coming. Aaron moved in close and pulled her in for a hug. 

‘I’m so sorry, Liv,’ he whispered, swaying her gently back and forth, as if she were a baby. ‘I’m so sorry.’

She shook her head. ‘I just—I always used to look at that picture, y’know. And just think… why didn’t he want to know us afterwards?’ She hiccupped and leant into her brother’s arms. She was aware of Aaron shushing her softly, and of Robert rubbing his hand up and down her back.

When she drew back, Aaron was crying silently as well. ‘Sorry, Aaron,’ she whispered.

‘Hey, no. You’ve got nothing to be sorry about, okay?’

‘It’s alright to be sad, Liv,’ Robert said. She nodded and wiped her eyes.

‘I’ve ruined the day.’

Aaron drew her back in again, pulling her tight to his chest. ‘No you haven’t, don’t be daft. We’ve still got hours left yet. Maybe if we ask Robert nicely, he’ll get us some chips for lunch, eh?’

She sniffled and nodded. She heard their lips meet in a kiss above her head, before Robert said ‘Back in a sec,’ and then Aaron was drawing her back to look at her properly. He pushed the hair that had come out of her ponytail behind her ear, then brushed away the tears that were already drying on her cheeks.

‘I know what it’s like, Liv,’ he said. ‘Okay? I’ve been there. All the times thinkin’ about… ‘bout what could’ve been.’

‘Does it stop?’

Aaron blew out a breath between puffed cheeks. ‘It doesn’t stop, no. Well, for me it doesn’t. It hasn’t yet, anyway.’ He looked around at the beach, but he wasn’t stalling for time, he was just trying to find the right words to say. ‘When I got to Emmerdale, I was always angry. I was always just this close to lashing out at someone. I started to cool down over the years, because… well, because I found my Mum again and she’s brilliant. And then there’s Adam, and Vic. And then Robert although, that was much much later.’ He shook his head. ‘I guess what I’m tryin’ to say is… it doesn’t stop, but it gets better, y’know. You find people who help you. Who love you and care for you. And you hang on to them.’ He shrugged. ‘There’s no, like, _trick_ to it. It just happens.’

She nodded. ‘I’m glad you found me,’ she said. ‘And… I’m, well not glad, but I’m… it’s better that I know what kind of man he was.’

‘It’s not easy, Liv. I know that. It’s like he’s these two separate men. And one of them is this… this monster who…’ he shook his head and cut himself off. ‘But the other is the Dad that you remember in the good moments. And it’s really damn hard.’

They hugged and stayed that way until Robert came back, three trays of chips in his hands. He knelt beside them and waited for them to part, then kissed Liv on the forehead and Aaron on the cheek. They both sidled up next to Robert and ate their lunch. She trusted Aaron when he said that it would get better because, to be honest, it already kind of was. And she had her little, unique, sometimes dysfunctional family to thank for that.

****

5)

She had thought it was weird when she saw one of those adoption letters on the kitchen table. Well, she hadn’t seen the whole thing, but she had seen the header and that was enough.

She started to panic. Were Aaron and Robert thinking of adopting a _baby_? Where would that leave her? A new baby meant that she’d be forgotten about again, put to one side. She couldn’t handle the thought. She tried to think back on their conversations, trying to pinpoint if there was anything that they had said which would lead to this decision. The only thing she could think about was a few weeks ago, when they had all been in the café with Vic and Adam. They had been talking about babies then, and Liv had zoned out. They really didn’t hold any interest for her, and from the look on his face, it didn’t for her brother either.

‘Rob, you’re not getting any younger,’ Victoria was saying.

‘Thanks, sis.’

She rolled her eyes at his sensitivity. ‘No, I mean that if you and Aaron are gonna adopt, or y’know get a surrogate or anything, you’d better do it soon. Otherwise by the time the child’s ten you’ll be seventy-odd.’

‘Yeah, alright, I’m not that old.’ But his protestations were lost among the laughter of the others. He poked Aaron in the side. ‘Oi! I dunno what you’re laughing about, you’re involved in this conversation as well.’

‘No I’m not, mate. I know that I don’t want kids. It’s you who always was hankerin’ after the 2.4 family and all that.’ He said it light-heartedly, but the topic was clearly a sore one for them both, and Robert quickly changed the subject.

That was the only time the subject of kids had ever been brought up. To her knowledge at least. She started to feel a bit betrayed. She was a part of this family as well, surely she should have a say in whether she wanted a baby in the house? She was tempted to throw the letter away, but it wasn’t like it wasn’t opened. They’d know that it went missing, and they would immediately ask her if she’d seen it. She wasn’t good at lying to Aaron. Or to Robert, come to think about it.

No, she’d just have to bite the bullet, wouldn’t she? Confront them about it. Aaron was always telling her to talk about her feelings more, not to bottle everything up (not that he could talk, of course), and so she would. Today.

She got home from school and the television was on. Aaron was snoring on the sofa. She closed the door behind her, and then switched the telly off.

‘I was watchin’ that,’ Aaron mumbled. 

Liv rolled her eyes. ‘No you weren’t. I could hear you snoring from half way down the road. Didn’t you sleep last night?’

‘Not well, no.’ 

He suffered quite a bit from insomnia. Sometimes she’d wake up to use the loo and the light would be on downstairs, even though their bedroom door was closed. Sometimes again, there would be a light shining from under their door, and she’d hear Robert and Aaron talking softly. Once, she had tried to go downstairs to check on her brother, but he’d sent her back to bed, no matter how much she protested how awake she was, or how worried she was. Robert had told her days later that on the nights that Aaron went downstairs, she should just leave him to it. It seemed cruel, but sometimes, he said, Aaron needed the time just to clear his head. She was always a bit relieved, though, when she saw the light under the bedroom door because it meant that her brother wasn’t suffering in silence, alone.

She clicked the kettle on and was about to shout through to ask if Aaron wanted a brew, but he was already asleep again. 

She didn’t get a chance to talk to them both until the next day, as it happened. Robert had got home from work late that evening, tired and moody. He ran himself a bath and took himself off to bed without any tea. Aaron was distracted the whole night, until the time came for them to go to bed as well. That night she heard their bed creaking suspiciously for a good half an hour, and slammed a pillow over her ears, trying to block out the sound and the mortification of what she could hear.

The next day was better. When she got home, both men were there already, and they had a cup of tea and her favourite biscuits waiting for her. It was all very suspicious.

Aaron sat forward on the sofa, Robert beside him wringing his hands together nervously. Liv sat in the armchair, cradling the giant teddy bear in her arms. She braced herself.

‘Um, I wanted… we wanted,’ Aaron amended, gesturing to Robert as well, ‘to ask you something. You don’t have to answer right away, okay? We just want your… your thoughts I guess. But it’s something we’ve both been thinking about for a while, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah,’ Robert answered, taking over. ‘It’s nothing that we jumped into. And it’s taken some careful thought, and all sorts of planning.’

Aaron took over again. ‘We called your mum to ask her as well, to see what she thought about… the whole idea.’ He winced. ‘She wasn’t crazy about it, but she’s gonna leave the final decision up to you.’

A cold hand clamped around her heart. ‘Are you sending me away?’ she whimpered. ‘Please, Aaron. Don’t send me away.’

‘What? Hey, no, don’t be silly.’ Aaron got up from the sofa and crouched in front of her. ‘We’re not sending you away. ‘Course we’re not.’ 

Robert also got up and sat on the arm of the chair. ‘What brought that on, eh?’

Liv couldn’t stop the tears from falling, even though they had both assured her that she could stay with them. ‘I saw the adoption papers on the table. I thought that if you two were adopting a baby, you’d send me away.’

‘Oh, Liv.’ Aaron pulled her into a hug, blocked somewhat awkwardly by the bear still in her lap. ‘We would never ever send you away. Okay?’

Robert stroked her hair. ‘And if we were adopting a baby, which we _definitely aren’t_ we’d have told you about it first before we even thought about going as far as getting papers.’

She looked up at them both, confused. ‘So—so what were they for?’

Aaron looked at Robert, then back at Liv. He held her hands in his, and Robert’s hand moved down to the nape of her neck. ‘Liv, we—we were wondering how you’d feel about the two of us becoming your legal guardians?’

She held her breath. The world stopped. 

‘What?’ she managed to gasp. ‘You want—’

‘Like Aaron said,’ Robert rushed to reassure her, ‘you don’t have to decide now. And even if you say no, that won’t change anything.’

‘No. I mean,’ she rushed when Aaron’s face fell. ‘I mean, no, I don’t need time. Yes! I want you and Robert to be my legal guardians!’ 

‘Really?’ Aaron breathed. A smile so bright it rivalled the sun broke out on his face. ‘Seriously?’

‘Yeah, seriously.’ She pulled him in for a hug, then turned to Robert, who was grinning as well. ‘What do I need to do? When will it happen?’

‘It’ll take a while,’ Robert said, Aaron being too star struck to even string three words together. ‘And it’ll mean we all have to go to meetings, and we need to get your mum’s signed approval as well.’

‘Okay.’ She couldn’t stop smiling. There was just a question that she needed to ask. ‘Will I become a Dingle or a Sugden?’

Aaron laughed. ‘I think you’re a Dingle, don’t you?’

****

\+ 1)

When they got to the pub, Aaron was swept inside by a whole host of Dingle hands. He was soon lost in a sea of people wanting to buy him a birthday drink. Then Charity was heard saying ‘And where’s that sister of yours?’ And before she knew it, Liv was also being grabbed and pushed to the bar where Aaron was being bought his third pint, all of them lined up ready for him. 

‘Can I have a pint?’ she asked.

‘Uhh—no.’ He grinned at her playfully. ‘Fizzy orange for Liv, please Mum.’

‘Oh come on, she can have a drink, surely,’ Cain said, suddenly appearing beside them.

Liv looked pleadingly at Aaron, but he still shook his head. She shrugged at Cain. At least he tried. She had been so busy being regaled with stories of Aaron in his younger years that she didn’t notice at first that Robert wasn’t beside her brother where he usually was. Frowning, she scanned the room for him and found him sitting in a booth with a pint, looking at his phone. Her heart clenched in sorrow. 

Pushing her way through everyone (the whole Dingle clan and their mothers seemed to be in tonight), she finally reached his table. ‘What’re you doin’ over here?’ she asked.

He looked up and smiled. ‘Just… some peace and quiet.’ She didn’t believe him for a second, and so sat opposite him so that he wouldn’t be alone. ‘Hey, you should be up there,’ he said nodding at the bar. ‘Must be your round soon.’

They smiled at each other. ‘Nah. Needed some time out. They’re nuts, this lot.’

Robert laughed. ‘Hey, careful. You’re part of that family now, y’know.’

‘So are you.’ She watched as the smile fell from his face a little. ‘You are,’ she insisted.

He smiled at her again, but she could see the sadness dancing in his eyes. She knew what that felt like: to be just a little bit on the outside. To not really know if she fit in. But she didn’t think that Robert felt that way about Aaron’s family. Then again, when she thought about it, Chas was always ready with a snide comment for him, even when she’d make him a cup of tea on Sunday afternoons when they all visited her. Cain always gave Robert a stern look when he saw him and Aaron together, as if he didn’t quite trust him. Marlon was always a little bit wary around Robert, and she noticed that he tried not to engage Robert in conversation unless someone else was there as well. She sighed. He’d been making her and Aaron both so happy for the past two years, and yet the Dingles couldn’t let go of what he had been. Robert had been relentless in his support for Aaron back before Gordon’s trial. He had talked to Liv and understood her like no one else could, and he brought her back home when she could have so easily left the village and everyone’s lives. And he had been nothing but solid for them both, taking the part of caregiver, counsellor, cook, teacher, everything that he could to make their lives easier. 

She got to her feet and pulled at Robert’s sleeve. ‘Liv! What are you doing?’

‘Come on. I’m only goin’ back up there if you do, too.’

She dragged him to the bar and as good as pushed him towards Aaron. ‘Hey, I was wondering where the two of you got to.’ He ordered a pint for Robert and another fizzy orange for Liv. Then he put his arm around Robert’s waist and leaned against him. ‘We’ll go soon,’ he told them, just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

‘What? But this is your birthday celebration,’ Robert protested. ‘And you don’t see your family that often anymore.’

Aaron frowned and kissed him softly, to catcalls from the Dingles. Then, smiling, he pulled Liv towards them as well. ‘I see my family every day.’

**Author's Note:**

> Come have a nosy on tumblr!: [Port in a Storm](http://www.portinastorm.tumblr.com)
> 
> Also credit goes to [Scrapyardboyfriends](http://www.scrapyardboyfriends.tumblr.com) aka Jenny for her amazing drawing of Rob and Aaron with a giraffe and a teddy bear. I hope she doesn't mind me using her idea!


End file.
